Adrien Brody

Actor

Born: 14 April 1973

Birthplace: New York, New York

Best known as: Oscar-winning star of The Pianist

Adrien Brody is a New York actor who is known to international audiences as the star of Roman Polanski's 2002 film, The Pianist. Brody started in small roles in the late 1980s and early '90s, finally gaining notice for his performance in Spike Lee's movie Summer of Sam (1999). He carried The Pianist in 2002 and won an Oscar for Best Actor; after his acceptance speech he startled TV viewers with an enthusiastic, impromptu kiss with that year's Best Actress winner, Halle Berry. His other films include a wide range of genres: the war film The Thin Red Line (1998, with Nick Nolte); horror films such as M. Night Shyamalan's The Village (2004, with Sigourney Weaver), and Dario Argento's Giallo (2009); thrillers such as Predators (2010, with Topher Grace) and The Experiment (2010, with Forest Whitaker); comedies such as Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited (2007, with Owen Wilson) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009, starring George Clooney); and dramas including Hollywoodland (2006, with Diane Lane) and The Brothers Bloom (2008, with Mark Ruffalo).

Extra credit: Adrien Brody sued the makers of the 2009 movie Giallo because they didn't pay him his full salary; a court ruling siding with Brody prevented the film's distributors from marketing it using Brody's image.